#The Spy Dancer

[darth-memes]

[soranatus]

Star Wars: Visions | 2.06: The Spy-Dancer — Loi’e and her son, the Imperial Officer

[macmanx]

"The Spy Dancer" by Studio La Cachette (France)

[antianakin]

What's most interesting to me about the Spy Dancer in this rewatch is how similar it is to Andor. It's a story about regular people (no Jedi or Sith involved) during the Imperial Era, but it manages to keep all of the same themes from the Jedi/Sith conflict and give it a different perspective.

Loi'e has lost hope almost entirely. She's helping the rebels on her planet, but she's doing it because it's necessary. There's no real joy for her, no real emotional connection to the people around her. She lost her son twenty years ago and so she refuses to make new emotional connections to anyone else ever since, no matter how much they love her. Hétis and the other workers would clearly do just about anything for Loi'e, they'd die for her if they had to, and she inspires them as a leader. But Loi'e is convinced she has to do everything alone and keeps pushing everyone around her away, even if it could mean her death as a result.

In the end, Loi'e finds her long lost son and it gives her hope again, but she still has to walk away from him and leave him behind. She COULD stay with him, but she'd die as a result and then he'd never have a way to escape the Empire. For both their sakes, she has to let him go, even if just temporarily. She doesn't give up on trying to save him in the long run, and this renewed hope gives her the ability to keep fighting and to choose to trust the family she's built around her and connect to them in a way she never has before.

And it's that selfless love that seems to get through to Loie's son, long after the two are separated again. Loi'e gives him a CHOICE to make, to follow the path she's left for him even when it's painful, or to continue to ignore the truth about himself. We'll never know what his choice is, but the fact that she intentionally gives him a choice he's never been offered before hits so hard and so good. Choice is SO important in Star Wars, and while Loi'e's son obviously has an immensely tragic story that led him to being an Imperial, it's important to recognize that he does HAVE a choice and is still capable of making it. The lies the Empire has told him have kept this choice from him before (he would have had a choice still, it just would have been to abandon the only family he knew in order to help the local rebels or stay with the people he believes raised him and loved him and help protect their cause), but his mother has gifted him with knowledge that puts this new choice in front of him.

And that's at the heart of Star Wars, that is the heart of Anakin's story, that he's ALWAYS had a choice. Luke offers his father assistance down this path, but only Anakin can actually make the journey. Similarly, Loi'e offers her son assistance but she can't force him to make this choice.

[allthefights]

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

the jedi adopting children: the name your parents gave you is important, and it's what you'll be called throughout your life. here are some outfits from your homeworld if you want them. if it matters to your people that you be taught by one of them, your master will be from the same species as you. you can go to your planet for major traditions and rites of passages as you grow up.

the empire, ripping babies from the arms of their mothers: hey newly nameless infant, mind if we sand down your horns and gouge out your eye so you'll look more human? here's the black outfit.

[gizkalord]

There’s something so visceral and unsettling about seeing how the dancer’s lost son was forced into literally maiming himself to erase any “other-ness”

[chosentroooer]

it was best episode of visions change my mind

[missriyochuchi]

Nope (2022) Star Wars: Visions - The Spy Dancer (2023)

[giantsizenerd]

Visions' season 2 was breathtaking, especially "Journey to the Dark Head," "The Spy Dancer," and "Aau's Song." It's amazing how the studios involved in the making of these shorts were able to create such mesmerizing stories.

[cienie-isengardu]

5. A gift from the past.

Up until the moment the officer gazes at the holo of the infant boy, it’s easy to believe Loi’e may have been mistaken in her identification of the eyepatch-wearing Imperial. But as he removes his cap to show the scars where two horns once protruded from his skull, we know her intuition has served her well. And instead of just another nameless Imperial soldier, a cog in the Empire’s galactic machine, we begin to see him as Loi’e did. A little boy who was stolen, a child who was indoctrinated, and a young man who can still change his mind.

[groundrunner100]

A Brief Summary of Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 For Those Who Haven’t Seen It Yet:

Saved you 2.5 hours of your life. Your welcome.

[cinnamonsikwate]

hétis in the spy dancer, setting her blaster sights: i'm not the step-daughter, i'm the daughter who stepped up!

[wheatbeats]

I did this last time and it got a couple notes, so why not again? Here's my ranking for all the shorts from Star Wars Visions: Volume 2.

Screecher's Reach - holy shit. Holy shit. I knew I would like this one going in because Cartoon Saloon owns my ass, but I never thought I'd see animated Star Wars horror. This one was genuinely creepy and seeing such a poor character fall victim to the lies of the Sith was heartbreaking, and unique for Star Wars content. I loved this short.

Aau's Song - I know the phrase "Ghibli-esque" gets thrown around annoyingly often, but I feel like it actually applies here. The gorgeous natural vistas, the emphasis on the nobility of simple work, a loving family dynamic, the power of a child and the magic of love, it's all here. The character designs are lovely, the music is moving, and I love the vocal performances too. This one is really close to the #1 spot.

The Spy Dancer - I somehow forgot that Studio La Cachette has been responsible for some of the most astounding animation of the past couple years, but oh my god did this short make me remember. Not only is the animation gorgeous, but the characters are so vividly portrayed in such a short amount of time, and it weaves a compelling story completely separate from the lore of the Jedi and the Sith. I'd love more Star Wars content like this.

Sith - the visuals of the painted world in this one are maybe some of the most out-there, artistically, in this whole bunch, and I appreciate such a strong vision. I feel like tumblr is gonna have the hots for our former-Sith protagonist, but I'm always a sucker for droids who are Just a Little Guy.

In the Stars - I love Lilo & Stitch in space. The visuals walk the line where I'm not 100% convinced whether they were cgi or stop-motion, but either way they're extremely impressive. I personally don't vibe with the character archetype that Kichina embodies, but I like her dynamic with Koten, and the arc they go through is pretty rock-solid.

The Bandits of Golak - I have mixed feelings about this one. I like the clear Clone Wars influence in the character designs, and the action staging is pretty great. I also love the sheer Bollywood energy that the Inquisitor brings; I'd love to see more Star Wars villains with this kind of energy instead of more blandly evil bureaucrats. That said, the character models are kind of stiff (especially in the human faces), and Rani is just... so annoying. Chanuk is a good boy, though.

I Am Your Mother - I'm kind of shocked that Aardman even decided to do a short for this volume, but I'm not complaining. When you get Aardman on board you expect a certain tone, and this doesn't disappoint. It's not nearly as funny as Aardman's best work, but it's still a good time and a nice balance with the darker shorts like Screecher's Reach.

The Pit - I really respect this studio and it's unique circumstances, but I feel like this short was missing something. Putting aside the animation, which looked great in still shots but didn't move super well, I feel like this short has nothing that ties it to Star Wars. The stormtroopers could have been any evil army, the kyber crystals could have just been gold or diamonds, the pit itself could have just been on Earth. This short has a good story to tell, but it makes absolutely zero relevant use of Star Wars lore.

Journey to the Dark Head - I'm sad to put the Studio Mir short on the bottom, but here we are. Mir still delivers on some astounding individual cuts of animation that live up to their lauded work on The Legend of Korra and Voltron: Legendary Defender, but I feel like overall the direction of this short was a little chaotic and confused, and the thrills didn't last for more than a few moments each. Moreover, the plot barely made any sense, and failed to sell a convincing story even using a longer runtime than any other short this volume. And I'm sorry, Eugene Lee Yang; I'm happy to see you here, but it just wasn't a very good performance.

[lemonmatronics]

This shot >>>>

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

oooh, finally getting around to watching s2 of Visions and I started with The Spy Dancer. The (non-Imperial) characters are all clearly French native speakers. Their terrible accent is music to my ears xD (I can't stand fake french accents, but the real deal is so raspy and authentic and familiar)